


She Looks Like An Angel, Talks Like It's War

by Itneveroccurredtomeatall



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28931835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itneveroccurredtomeatall/pseuds/Itneveroccurredtomeatall
Summary: When a replica of the Titanic destroyed London and all of southern England was flooded with radiation, the Nobles were forced to relocate to a house in Leeds which they shared with two families and a woman named Yvonne Hartman.Yvonne Hartman moved into an overcrowded house in Leeds because Torchwood had discovered an anomaly that was somehow connected to Donna Noble.
Relationships: Andy Davidson / Norton Folgate (mentioned), Yvonne Hartman/Donna Noble
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: 2021 Femslash Fest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Torchwood Fan Fests Femslash Fest for rarepair and canon divergence! Here's a few notes so this makes a little more sense :) 
> 
> It takes place in the Turn Left world. Jack survived and recruited Andy and Norton (but everyone else is still gone). This is the new Yvonne who came through but wasn't in London when the Titanic fell on Buckingham Palace so she went to Cardiff to find Jack. 
> 
> I'll update the tags as we go! Also, the title is from "White Flags" by Our Lady Peace because it was on my playlist while I was working on this :)

Yvonne sighed and leaned forward as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. The past few months - no, the past few years - hadn’t been particularly kind and certainly not the past few days. 

Sure, she liked Norton and Andy well enough - Norton was clever and Andy was kind - and she was glad they’d finally broken the almost unbearable sexual tension between them but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear them going at it in the middle of the night. 

Torchwood Five - as they’d taken to calling themselves after a heated debate on whether they would continue the Torchwood One mantle given Norton and Yvonne’s affiliations or the Torchwood Three mantle given Jack’s and, to some extent, Andy’s affiliations as well as their current location in Cardiff - lived and worked out of Andy’s tiny studio. 

Why Jack didn’t have a place outside of the Hub was anyone’s guess. Yvonne could admire commitment to the job but living in your place of work was surely a bit much, even by her standards. 

But London was a smoking crater and so was Torchwood Three, so they were here, crammed into Andy’s flat. The kitchen cupboards were full of whatever alien technology they’d managed to save, their clothes were piled on the bathroom counter, and a small, horribly sun-deprived plant lived on the back of the toilet. Yvonne liked to think of the plant as a representation of Torchwood Five. Scrappy and in a less-than-ideal situation but still managing to hang on. Barely. 

And it certainly was a less-than-ideal situation. Yvonne was sleeping in a bunk bed for the first time since the sleepaway summer camp her parents had sent her to when she was ten and they’d left for a cruise and Norton and Andy were sharing the pull-out couch because, apparently, Andy had never invested in a proper bed (the bunk bed had been a gift from the family next door who had decided to leave and take their children to a cabin in the countryside). 

And they were the lucky ones. Homelessness had reached record numbers. Millions were dead or on their way there. Families were separated and jobs were scarce. The government was providing the least amount of relief they could get away with without people rioting in the streets.

There was a sharp knock on the bathroom door, interrupting Yvonne’s train of thought. 

“One moment,” she called out as she straightened up and quickly fixed her hair. 

She opened the door to find Jack and Norton.

“We’ve tracked the anomaly,” Jack said immediately. 

Norton shot him a look. “You mean, I’ve tracked the anomaly.” 

Jack frowned. “Alright,” he said. “ _ Norton _ ’s tracked the anomaly.”

“I don’t care who tracked it,” Yvonne said with a huff of frustration as she pushed past them. Honestly. Boys and their constant desire to one-up each other. “Just tell me where it is.” 

They gathered around Jack’s laptop which, through some miracle, could still access the internet. She and Andy had tried for days to get their laptops working without any luck and Jack had been unable to explain why he was still able to run programs that required the internet while no one else in all of Cardiff could. It was some piece of technology from the future, she supposed. 

“There’s a woman named Donna Noble,” Jack said as he pulled up a headshot of a redheaded woman. 

It was a passport or ID photo, judging by the plain background and the serious expression on the woman’s face that was just threatening to break out into a smile. 

“She lived in Chiswick but was on a holiday when London… when it happened,” Jack continued. “She’s been staying in a hostel for the last several months with her family as they wait for relocation. There’s- I don’t know how we missed it - but there’s a massive energy reading coming off her. It might be her or it might be something she’s carrying, but it’s always with her. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jack opened a new window and Yvonne leaned forward to get a closer look at what appeared to be a map with a small red pinpoint which appeared to be pacing back and forth in a hallway. 

“Here’s what I’m thinking: We’ll transfer her family somewhere,” Norton said. “One of us can move in and observe her more closely. If it’s something she has on her, we’ll take it. If it’s her, we’ll bring her here for further examination.” 

“I’ve still got a few connections,” Jack said, “and I can ensure one of us ends up in the same building as her.” 

“I’ll do it,” Yvonne said after she had mulled the plan over. 

Jack raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking Andy might be a good, friendly face,” he suggested. 

“Andy, you’re sweet,” Yvonne said as she turned to face the younger man who had joined them to look at the computer screen, “but I’m doing this.” 

Andy’s face fell. “If you’re sure….” 

“I’m sure,” she said firmly. “You can stay here and help Norton and Jack with research and analysis.” 

“Alright,” Jack said as he gently shut the laptop. “I’ll call in that favor. Anywhere specific you’d like to end up?”

Yvonne shook her head. “Anywhere but Cardiff.” 

Jack gave a mock salute. “Can do.”

* * *

Four days later, Yvonne was packed and headed for Leeds. 

Five days after her arrival, Donna Noble arrived. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows the episode very closely (with the exception of Yvonne), but future chapters will be more interesting and deviate from the episode more! :)

Donna frowned as she stepped off the green bus and took in the terraced street. 

She’d never been to Leeds before and, while it technically wasn’t all that different from Chiswick, the row of practically identical terraced houses left her with a hollow feeling. Glasgow was probably much the same but she couldn’t help thinking that Leeds was surely a soft sentence to a life of slowly dwindling away into nothingness. 

The other passengers gathered together against a brick wall in front of a group of soldiers as the housing assignments were announced. One by one, people headed off to their new home. 

“The Noble family, billeted at number twenty-nine,” the soldier read off from his position in a car.

Wilf picked up his telescope. “That’s us,” he said. “Come on, off we go. All right?” He cast a glance at Sylvia and Donna in turn. 

They began walking past identical homes in the direction of number twenty-nine. 

“Used to be a nice little family, number twenty-nine,” a woman said from her front stoop as she glared at them, her face twisted into an unpleasant sneer. “They missed one mortgage payment. Just one. They got booted out. All for you lot.” 

Donna whirled on her, her eyes flashing. “Don’t get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth,” she snapped. “Pop your clogs on and go and feed whippets.” 

“Sweetheart, come on,” Wilf urged. “You’re not going to make the world any better by shouting at it.”

“I can try,” Donna retorted but she turned and continued walking. Best not get into any fights before they’d even moved in… even if the other woman had started it. A fight would surely be more trouble than it was worth. 

They approached the house, walking up toward the entrance. 

“What happens?” Sylvia demanded as she stared at the door. “Do we get keys?”

“I don’t know, do I?” Wilf replied.

“Who do we ask? The soldiers?” Syvlia glanced back towards the road. 

The front door swung open to reveal a grinning man who was well on his way to going bald. 

“Hey, hey. Is a big house,” he said. “Room for all. Welcome! In you come.” 

He was the happiest person Donna had seen in months and it was jarring to see someone smiling so widely after everything that had happened. For a minute, she hated him for his happiness. 

“I thought this was our house,” Donna said with a frown. 

“Is many people’s house. Is wonderful. In, in, in.” He gestured them inside and the Noble family hesitantly entered the house.

“We’ve been here for eight weeks already,” Rocco explained as they stepped into the crowded entryway. “I had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush. All gone now.”

Donna glanced around the place, taking in the green walls and the slightly alarming number of people they’d be sharing the house with. Her heart sank. 

“So, upstairs, we have Merchandani family. Seven of them. Good family. Good kids. Except for that one.” He singled out one of the young boys who was standing on the staircase. “You be careful of him.”

The boy gave him a what-for look. 

“I’s a joking! Where’s that smile, eh?” He clasped the boy’s face between his hands and ruffled his hair fondly before turning back to the Noble family. 

“Rocco Colasanto,” he said by way of introduction. “I’m here with my wife and her sister and her husband and their kids and their daughter’s kids. We’ve got the front room. My mother, she’s got the back room. She’s old. You forgive, eh? And that’s Yvonne.” He nodded towards a blonde woman standing at the top of the staircase with her arms folded across her chest. 

She had faint circles under her eyes, Donna noticed, but her curls were still immaculate as she offered them a slight nod. She was beautiful, in a way, and had an aura of authority around her despite their current surroundings. A pantsuit and good posture will do that for you, Donna thought. 

“And this. This is you.” Rocco pushed a brown curtain aside. “This is your palazzo.”

Donna glanced around the narrow room, taking in the sink, the tin cans lining the shelves, and the cots on the floor. She felt her heart sink even further. 

“We’re living in the kitchen?” she asked.

“You got camp beds. You got the cooker, you keep warm. You got the fridge, you keep cool,” he said as he gestured to each in turn. “Is good, eh?” He flashed them another brilliant smile. 

Donna closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and hoped that when she opened her eyes she would be back home in Chiswick. 

No such luck. 


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner that night was a raucous affair. Even though none of the Nobles were particularly in the mood, it seemed that having new arrivals thrilled Rocco, his family, and the Merchandani family. Wilf, as usual, took to the new company like a fish to water. 

The house was lively and made for a stark difference from the quietness of the hostel they’d been staying at. The hostel had felt like a graveyard. It had been suffocating, though Donna wasn’t sure if Leeds was much better. 

Yvonne, however, seemed indifferent, but it was hard to tell, Donna thought as she inconspicuously regarded the woman from across the table between mouthfuls of baked beans. 

They seemed to be roughly the same age, she figured, though, judging from Yvonne’s outfit, posture, and the way she held her silverware, from different worlds. What had Yvonne been like before this if she still wore clothes that were nicer than anything Donna had ever owned? Even as the world was spiraling out of control, Yvonne seemed to radiate authority. It was… different. 

And, once dinner was finished, Donna, her mother, and her grandfather retired to the dingy kitchen and prepared for bed because there was nothing else to do but sleep. 

* * *

Donna frowned as she rolled over and stared at the ceiling. It seemed that, no matter how hard she tried, this cot was going to give her aches and pains she thought she’d have a few mores years before she’d have to deal with.

She turned her head to glance at her mother who was already fast asleep. But, even in her sleep, she looked unhappy. 

Donna sighed, sat up, and decided she could use some air. She quietly pushed back her blanket and stood before grabbing the bowl with the candle on the counter and making her way to the front of the house. 

She opened the front door carefully, allowing a sliver of light to spill out onto the quiet street and, to her surprise, found someone already sitting at the curb in front of the house. 

Yvonne turned, the light falling across the surprised expression on her face. 

“Mind if I join you?” Donna asked, her voice carrying out to the street.

“Be my guest.” 

Donna gently shut the door, stepped out into the cool night air, made her way to Yvonne, set the bowl with the candle down on the pavement, and took a seat at the curb besides Yvonne. 

“Didn’t know they still made those,” she said as she nodded toward the cigar in Yvonne’s hand. 

“They don’t.” 

“So, what? You just happened to have a suitcase full of cigars along with you?” 

Yvonne snorted. “Something like that.” She held out the cigar to her. “Would you like to share?” 

Donna eyed the proffered cigar dubiously. “Why not?” she said finally as she reached out to take it from Yvonne’s hand. What harm could one cigar do when the world was already falling apart?

She hesitantly raised it to her lips and broke out into a fit of coughs after she inhaled the hot smoke. 

“Thanks for the warning,” she managed to rasp as she turned to pass the cigar back to Yvonne and found the other woman barely suppressing a smile.

“First time?” 

Donna nodded. “What gave it away?” she said wryly after she had caught her breath, prompting a quiet laugh from the other woman. 

Donna joined in. She could scarcely remember the last time she had smiled, let alone laughed. It was nice. It felt normal. 

“Here, watch.” 

Yvonne raised the cigar to her lips and Donna watched intently, noting how soft her lips looked in the moonlight as they wrapped around the cigar. She watched as Yvonne took a puff and let her eyes fall shut. A few seconds later, she exhaled a mouthful of smoke. Then she opened her eyes and the moment was over. 

Yvonne passed the cigar back to Donna who tried to replicate her actions. While she was sure she didn’t make it look as effortless as Yvonne had, at least she hadn’t choked this time. 

She’d never felt the urge to smoke a cigar before but, she had to admit, the flavor wasn’t half bad. The company wasn’t half bad either. 

They smoked, sitting in an easy silence, until the cigar was done.

Yvonne set it on a small ashtray she must’ve brought out with her and Donna suddenly realized that, despite her jacket and gloves, she was cold. 

“Thank you,” she told Yvonne, “but I really should get some sleep.”

Yvonne nodded. “Have a good night.”

Donna frowned as she stood and picked up the bowl with the candle. “You aren’t coming in?” 

“I just need a little more fresh air and time outside my closet of a room.”

Donna nodded. “Alright, well, have a good night.” 

She made her way back to the front door and quietly opened the door and slipped inside. 


End file.
